Let Me
by PennyLane71
Summary: "This place...is it home"? Rick and Michonne, finally reunited, discover that home has nothing to do with location. 100% Richonne.


"We need you strong. Just rest…just one more day."

He couldn't help but smile a little as he watched her walk away, a habit he no longer tried to break.

_Yes, Ma'am._

Rick went ahead and did as he'd been told. He made his way upstairs to seek out a bed.

That couch had been his home for what seemed like forever and the two desperately needed a break from each other. His hands gripped the stair railing as he climbed. Rick was better but not quite back to where he was before.

Coming across what looked like the master bedroom, he took off his shoes and gingerly laid himself down on the king-sized bed. He felt a sigh escape as he reveled in the feeling of a bed, a real one. The end of the world tended to turn the little things you took for granted into gifts to be treasured.

Michonne was right…as usual. He had needed this. Rick replayed their last conversation in his head. He knew she wanted to move on from this house. Time and again, experienced had shown that staying in one spot was dangerous. She just wanted them to stay safe, and maybe find the others. Were there any others left?

Rick's wish to stay was _mostly_ due to the uncertainty of what waited on the outside. He still needed to heal and be able to protect himself, his son, and now Michonne. However, he couldn't lie to himself.

He found he liked playing house with her. It felt good. It felt like family and he wasn't quite ready to give that up.

Michonne and Carl had formed an iron-clad bond. Carl, for all his bravado, soaked up the maternal attention Michonne showed him. He _needed _that. For all intents and purposes, she was his mother. But if she was his son's mother, what did that make Michonne to him?

Rick stared at the ceiling, trying to gather all the thoughts, images, and fantasies that flooded his mind.

He could see them on Sunday mornings. Rick would read the paper while Michonne made pancakes; good ones.

They would sit close together on the couch watching TV after Carl and Judith were in bed. Hands touching, their fingers intertwined and her head on his shoulder.

Going to sleep together, kissing her, touching her.

He'd had all these thoughts and feelings long before. The only difference was that he had stopped denying it, feeling guilty for wanting this, wanting her. He'd loved Lori and in a way, he always would. But this was different.

Rick and Lori's marriage had felt tense, unsure, and even awkward at times. Yeah, they lived as a family, slept together, had pancakes on Sundays. But the very short time he'd spent with Carl and Michonne at the prison, and here at the house showed him that much of his marriage felt almost forced. This current situation, even with the absolute worst of circumstances, felt natural and almost too easy.

He finally fell asleep with Michonne still on his mind.

* * *

When Rick opened his eyes, it was dark outside. Panic hit him. Had they come back yet? How long had it been?

As if on cue, the bedroom door opened and Michonne walked in. She had a bundle of clothes in one arm and a sandwhich and bottle of water in the other. Rick felt himself calm down at the site of her.

"Rise and shine, Sheriff", she said, a small smile curling her full lips.

Rick sat up in bed, grunting in pain. "When did you get back?"

She closed the door behind her, setting everything on the dresser.

"We got back hours ago but didn't want to disturb you. You needed the sleep."

Rick nodded. "Where's Carl?

"Believe it or not, we found more comics. He's in his room with a flashlight. You probably won't see much of him tonight."

Carl was in his room.

Were he and Michonne in _theirs_? Rick couldn't help but like the way that sounded.

Michonne grabbed the food and came to sit on the bed with him. "You need to eat. After dinner, you and I have business to attend to."

"Really," Rick asked with a smirk. "What business is that?"

Michonne moved close him, wiping the smirk off his face and replacing it with a look of surprise.

"Rick..." she started, stone-faced, "you need a bath, for your sake and for the sake of us all."

Unable to keep it straight any longer, Michonne laughed her eyes bright and dimples on display.

He returned her laugh and glued his eyes to that beautiful face. If it took the rest of his life, he'd do anything to keep her smiling like that.

She got off the bed and Rick did his best to hide his disappointment. "Where are you going?" he asked, trying not to sound as pathetic as he felt.

"I'm going to go get the stuff to clean you up. Don't worry, I'm coming right back." Michonne flashed yet another heart-stopping grin and left the room. Rick ate, still feeling weak but for a completely different reason.

True to her word, Michonne returned shortly with her supplies.

"Ready?" she asked

_Ready to have you wash me? I don't think I'll ever be ready for that._

She approached him, offering her arm. Rick took it and slowly stood up. Together, they moved to the bathroom.

"First things first…this has got to go."

Michonne reached up, starting to remove his shirt. "Michonne" he said quietly, stopping her hand. "You don't have to do this."

She looked up at him, her eyes soft. "Rick. Let me help you. We take care of each other. It's what we do. Okay?"

Rick lowered his arms, admitting defeat. "Okay."

"Good boy."

Rather than attempt to unbutton what was left of Rick's shirt, Michonne simply ripped it off and threw it in a trash can in the corner.

_All right, this is fine_, Rick thought. _It's just a shirt. It's fine._

All calmness and reserve flew out the window when he realized Michonne had gone to her knees in front of him, her fingers inspecting his injured ribs.

_Oh shit, oh no_, Rick thought. _Not_ _now. Don't get turned on, don't get turned on._

Maggots, rotten corpses…dead puppies and kittens? It wasn't really working. Hurt or not, Rick was still a man. A man who hadn't had sex in a couple of years, with a gorgeous woman he had feelings for on her knees in front of him. Fuck.

_Come on_, he begged his body. _Repress it, repress it…you get a hard-on now, and she'll never touch you again._

"You good?"

Rick looked down and met Michonne's eyes. She seemed concerned…and maybe a little amused.

"I'm fine, just tired." Good one, Grimes.

Oddly enough, she accepted this lame excuse and went back to her work. Michonne's fingers left Rick's side and began to unbutton his pants. Once undone, she proceeded to undress him. If Michonne noticed his barely restrained _excitement_ and sweating thighs, she graciously ignored both and helped him get into the tub.

"There you go" she said quietly. Michonne proceeded to bathe Rick, gently washing the matted dirt and blood off his body.

He sat still, saying nothing and feeling everything. Rick felt shampoo landing on this head and her fingers gently massaging his scalp and washing his hair.

Was he dead? As cliché as it was, Rick imagined this was heaven felt like. Her touch was firm but comforting. It felt _loving_. There was no other way to describe it. Michonne was loving him.

"Good?"

Her question brought him out of his haze. "Good doesn't begin to touch it" he answered, wearing a goofy grin.

She returned his smile, rinsing him off. "Ready to get out?"

_Yeah, no. Can't we just do this forever?_

Unfortunately, he was starting to get pretty cold. Michonne grabbed a towel and helped Rick to his feet. She began drying him off, starting with his hair and working her way down. Any feelings of embarrassment Rick might have had were gone. If he'd felt more comfortable with anyone else, he couldn't recall it.

_She's seen me naked but I haven't seen her. Not fair._

Rick looked for pajamas but Michonne was already in the process of putting him in bed. He looked confused for a moment until he noticed her pulling off her jeans and starting to unbutton that large white shirt. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes.

Rick's heart started pounding at what he saw there. She got into the bed with him, pulling down the covers…and straddling him. He stayed frozen. This had to be a trap…no way this was happening. Was it?

Still meeting his gaze, Michonne continued removing her shirt and bra. She was on top of him. She was naked.

Yeah, no dead puppies or kittens are stopping him this time.

Rick tried to sit up but Michonne placed her hands on his chest, pushing him back down. He felt her hands slowly move down his body and wrap around his cock. She began gently pumping him, up and down.

_That's it. I'm dead_, thought, closing his eyes and groaning.

He opened his eyes again to see Michonne's face approaching his own, putting her lips on his.

Rick slipped his tongue into her mouth, his fingers tangled in her hair. This was inevitable. It had always been inevitable, from the moment he first saw her outside the prison fence.

Michonne's tongue against his own was killing him in the most wonderful way. Her teeth tenderly bit at his bottom lip before she ended the kiss. She sat up, still straddling him, grinding against him.

He'd never seen anything so sexy in his entire life. Her dark eyes watched him, full of desire.

Tentatively, Rick reached for her, placing his hands on her breasts, rolling a nipple in each hand. He was rewarded with a deep moan of his name and another roll of her hips against him. He needed to feel more. One hand continued holding a breast while the other slipped under the covers, cupping her heat, his thumb finding her clit. He was out of practice and had always been somewhat unsure of his abilities as Lori had been pretty reserved in bed.

Michonne? Michonne was not. The moment he'd put his hand between her legs and touched that bundle of nerves, she'd bucked against him, releasing a stream of curse words that could have made Merle blush.

Rick continued caressing her, rubbing her, urging her to let go. Her arousal soaked his hand, turning him on more than he thought possible. She was easily the strongest person he'd ever met and here she was, whimpering, moaning, and wet just for _him_.

Rick needed to be inside this woman more than he wanted oxygen but was afraid to push forward. His concerns were uneccessary as Michonne lifted her hips and lowered herself onto his cock.

"Fuck, he growled. They stayed that way for a second, adjusting to this new feeling. Slowly, Michonne started moving up and down. Rick could tell she was being careful, afraid of hurting him. He _was_ sore...but really didn't care at this point.

Placing his hands on those round hips, he urged her to move faster. "You sure?" she managed to ask. His answer was a resounding smack on her ass.

"All right then," she laughed. Michonne moved her hands behind her, gripping his thighs as she rode him harder.

Rick squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the beginning of tears. She made him feel so good, so safe, it was almost too much. He had to sit up. Michonne was too far away and he needed her closer.

His back was now against the headboard, bringing the new lovers face to face. Michonne placed her hand against his cheek and flicked away a tear that had managed to escape. Rick gripped those hips again, and spoke against her lips.

"Mine…"

He didn't know if it was a statement or a question but it needed to be said. This time he felt a tear from Michonne fall on his face.

"Yours..." She whispered.

Rick moved to her neck, alternating between soft kisses and bites. His hand moved back between her legs, teasing her clit more aggressively this time.

"God...I can't...I" Michonne's words were becoming more nonsensical as she got closer and closer to the brink. Rick needed to give this to her, to claim her as his own. His hand worked faster, making Michonne's bouncing more frantic. It felt like she was still trying to maintain some control but Rick was having none of it. He placed his lips against her ear, egging her on.

"Let me. Let me love you. Come for me, Michonne." Rick took her earlobe in his mouth.

"I can't. I can't." She was opening crying.

"Yes, you can. I've got you." Rick felt his own orgasm quickly approaching and he wasn't about to leave her behind.

"Give it to me" he implored again. "Come for me, baby... I love you so much."

Unable to hold back anymore, Michonne came hard, her arms around Rick's neck. Seeing her pleasure destroyed the last of his control and he reached his release violently, still inside her. They kissed roughly, muffling each other's moans.

Their breathing finally started to slow although neither moved from the other.

"…you okay?" Michonne asked.

Rick laughed. "It's going to hurt like hell tomorrow, but it was totally worth it."

She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair.

"...Did you mean it?

He looked confused. "Mean what?"

Michonne rolled her eyes and gave him that look. "Really?"

"Oh…that." If he hadn't been injured, Rick was sure she would have hit him.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I've always meant it. Just didn't know how to say it. And after the prison, I thought I'd never get the chance." Rick snuggled closer to Michonne. He didn't think he'd ever be able to get close enough.

"So…?"

"So what?

Rick pouted a bit, not wanting to beg, but willing to if it came to it.

In an act of mercy, she kissed him again. "Yes, I love you. Desperate, much?" she teased.

"…Only when it comes to you, Michonne…only when it comes to you."

She helped him lay back down and tangled in each other's arms, they started to fall asleep.

Rick knew that things would never go back to the way they were before. The non-combative farmer routine was over. His inaction had already cost so much and he wouldn't make that mistake again.

He would do his best to hold on to whatever shred of humanity remained, but he wouldn't hesitate to cut down anyone who threatened his family. Michonne was a part of that family.

Rick had one job now; to take care of Michonne and Carl.

They were his blood. They were his home.


End file.
